If you lived in Glasgow, nobody would know and that would look normal. Just slab on some black eyeliner.. ;p

Embra, more likely.

_________________A whole lot of access and privilege goes into being sanctimonious pricks J-DubDessert is currently a big bowl of sanctimonious, passive aggressive vegan enduced boak. FezzaYou people are way less funny than Pandacookie. Sucks to be you.-interrobang?!

whoa, i missed out on some big news!congrats littlebird and welcome lydia! so happy you got the homebirth you wanted!helbury.. yay for two healthy fetuses (feti?!) of opposite sexes.and i always love belly pictures! it's so fun to watch the babies grow from the outside. hope everything goes well with telling work, lisapunk.

What an awesome story, lb! It's so cool that your midwives seemed to know that once things really got going, they would go fast. Lydia is so cute! I hope you have a quick recovery and enjoy your tiny baby time! Home birth really is awesome. Going to sleep in your own bed with your family after everything settles down is the best, isn't it?

Congrats again LB, and welcome Lydia! I loved reading your fast and furious birth story, it really made me remember that "shiitake just got real!" feeling. And I am so happy that you got to have an awesome (if intense) homebirth.

Lisa, I think you're lookin' good! You can probably get away with it a little longer. Definitely a week if you need to!

Helbury, I think we all look pregnant-er faster the second time around... so if you're having twins on top of that, makes sense.

If you lived in Glasgow, nobody would know and that would look normal. Just slab on some black eyeliner.. ;p

Woah. Back up there a sec. Can we not with the Glasgow bullshiitake? ";p" or not, it's really not cool. Really, not. And I DO live in Glasgow (unlike yourself, no?)

You don't think Glaswegians tend to be overweight?!I live in the country now (where people still tend to be overweight), but lived in Glasgow when I was pregnant with Beetroot and nobody knew. I worked at William Hills in the West End/Partick/White Inch and was totally at least as big as LisaPunk and nobody ever asked or said a word (a guy even asked me out for a drink and when I told him I was pregnant, he accused me of lying!) and when I said I would be going on maternity leave, a ton of people were surprised. Even when I was 8 months pregnant with Raygold and on the train from Glasgow to Helensburgh, people pushed me out of the way to get seats after a stop and I really think they had no idea I was pregnant, even though they had been standing next to me.

Joined: Fri Apr 01, 2011 11:51 amPosts: 8120Location: United States of New England

coldandsleepy wrote:

Lisa, I think you're lookin' good! You can probably get away with it a little longer. Definitely a week if you need to!

thanks! im hoping to wait until after Thanksgiving.#1 because that means just pushing back the inevitable further and that's kinda what i do. im not good at facing things ;-)#2 as i mentioned before my supervisor just lost her father friday night so she is out until probably Thursday on bereavement leave, then when she comes back not only will she still be upset about her father's passing but it's both audit season and month end here (i work in accounting) so it's basically the most stressful time of the year and she's probably gonna be bonkers. that and i think she took tuesday and wednesday of next week off sooooo it all seems best to me to wait til after thanksgiving!i think im doing a pretty good job hiding it. i bought two new shirts that are size L or XL but dumbie me wasnt thinking and bought shirts with horizontal stripes on them. d'oh!

Lydia is gorgeous! Congrats again littlebird and thanks for sharing your story!

Re: belly second time around. I'm 11 weeks today and it's way obvious that I'm pregnant. It actually has been for two or three weeks. A couple of friends know but other than that people are doing a good job of not saying anything to me. I'm glad I won't be seeing any family until thanksgiving, which conveniently falls two days after my 12 week appointment so I'll be able to tell them then.

And in cuteness news, Ada now knows where the baby is and will give my belly kisses.

Lisa, I think you definitely have weeks to go before you have to tell. I didn't tell certain people (future employers) until I was 5 months pregnant and nobody had a clue. I had gained like 30 pounds by then! I just bought a few pieces of clothing in bigger sizes (not maternity - maternity clothes emphasize bellies) and wore loose cardigans on top.

Lisa, I think you definitely have weeks to go before you have to tell. I didn't tell certain people (future employers) until I was 5 months pregnant and nobody had a clue. I had gained like 30 pounds by then! I just bought a few pieces of clothing in bigger sizes (not maternity - maternity clothes emphasize bellies) and wore loose cardigans on top.

With my second pregnancy, I didn't tell my boss til I was like... 5 or 6 months. By pretty much following the same advice Ariann gives!

(I was the rare person who didn't look especially pregnant especially early to start with, but I'm kinda chubby to start with, which helps, and my abs were a lot stronger with baby #2, which also helps.)

Joined: Fri Apr 01, 2011 11:51 amPosts: 8120Location: United States of New England

hmm...you guys are giving me hope.i was kinda chubby to begin with and i carry most of my weight around my stomach so it just looks like i am gaining weight right now. i mean if i stood up and relaxed my gut and someone looked at me sideways they might guess but otherwise i just look a little extra chunky.

the other thing i have going for me is NO ONE expects me to have kids. NO ONE.

when i go to Thanksgiving though my mother in law is going to freak the fork out (with excitement) that i have a little bit of a belly. i hope she's not a touchy feely person.......

the other thing i have going for me is NO ONE expects me to have kids. NO ONE.

That is a really good thing to have on your side if you aren't ready to announce it. I had a little of that -- I think being married for 8+ years and not having kids made most people think we didn't want any -- even my parents were really surprised.

BTW, I totally look way more pregnant than you when I am really gassy. Even when I am not pregnant!

Joined: Fri Apr 01, 2011 11:51 amPosts: 8120Location: United States of New England

yeah i just turned 35 and we have been married for 7 years (together for like 13-14) and i have told people my entire life i didnt want kids. so we definitely have the element of surprise.both sets of parents literally almost fell out of their chairs when we told them.

some of this may bite me in the asparagus though as i know once i tell people at work they are going to all be up in my grill asking me 8000 questions about why we changed our minds etc and honestly i just want to be left alone. that is my biggest reason for not telling anyone yet because i dont want everyone's opinions and parenting advice dumped on me :-P

You don't think Glaswegians tend to be overweight?!I live in the country now (where people still tend to be overweight), but lived in Glasgow when I was pregnant with Beetroot and nobody knew. I worked at William Hills in the West End/Partick/White Inch and was totally at least as big as LisaPunk and nobody ever asked or said a word (a guy even asked me out for a drink and when I told him I was pregnant, he accused me of lying!) and when I said I would be going on maternity leave, a ton of people were surprised. Even when I was 8 months pregnant with Raygold and on the train from Glasgow to Helensburgh, people pushed me out of the way to get seats after a stop and I really think they had no idea I was pregnant, even though they had been standing next to me.

Anyway, no offense meant, but I was speaking from experience.

I think it's awesome to stereotype an entire city. Shall we chat about some other place? I've got some comments saved up...Generally, we find that it's unkind to say things like that around here. We try not to be fatphobic and we try not to be cruel and dismissive of some place that someone else calls home. There are exceptions but when someone tells you that they are offended, you should take note. Interrobang lives in Glasgow so maybe reexamine your conversation in that light.

_________________A whole lot of access and privilege goes into being sanctimonious pricks J-DubDessert is currently a big bowl of sanctimonious, passive aggressive vegan enduced boak. FezzaYou people are way less funny than Pandacookie. Sucks to be you.-interrobang?!

And in cuteness news, Ada now knows where the baby is and will give my belly kisses.

So cute! Its kind of amazing how much they can understand so early. Its easy to forget because she is tall, but she's just 18 months! Also, this makes me want another baby ( except I'm still remembering the "hit by a dumptruck" comment!)!

_________________My oven is bigger on the inside, and it produces lots of wibbly wobbly, cake wakey... stuff. - The PoopieB.

Oh LisaPunk, if they think you're not having children, you're golden! You could hide it for months with strategic dressing.

My problem was that everyone at work knew I wanted to be pregnant (because I had just been pregnant). So when I went from wearing tucked in blouses to wearing A-line shirts and a belly band (AT FOUR WEEKS) everyone looked at me sideways. I was definitely not ready for work colleagues to know but there was no way to hide it. That didn't stop me from not saying anything all first trimester, however. It just made it awkward when people had to feign surprise when I finally told them, haha.

Helbury, this is my first pregnancy and I had a tiny bump at 16 weeks, and at 20 weeks there was no hiding it. By 24 weeks I had to keep explaining I was having twins because people were shocked at my due date. But, it isn't just two babies. It's two sacs, two placentasI'm excited for another set of PPK fraternals!

Sorry I've been MIA for a while, but everything is fine. I got sick the day of my shower, and was so sick and exhausted for a month after that it was all I could do to drag myself from the work to bed every day. I've been working from home since October 29 because even though my blood pressure was fine, my legs were so swollen and I was so sore and still sick and miserable that my doctor just wrote me a note.

Both babies are head down, and the girl is first. She's been head down for a while, and is really, really low now. Baby boy has been performing feats of strength and somersaulting when there shouldn't have been enough room, but is also head down. We really just needed her to be vertex, but it makes things easier. Basically, I did absolutely nothing and they moved on their own.

My final induction date is November 26, at 38 weeks, 2 days. I could go in early next week, so they'd still be full term. The boy has an arrhythmia that doesn't want to resolve. I also have a benign arrhythmia, but...better to err on the side of caution. He continues to be so incredibly active that I'm trying not to worry.

At this point, they're both so big that they wouldn't stop labor anyway. I'm just trying to relax, organize and get those last few things we need, and enjoy the last few days of just Carl and I as a couple. We've had almost 9 years with just the two of us, so we're so excited to meet these babies, but we're still trying to savor these last few moments. I feel totally unprepared at moments and almost too relaxed at others.

This photo is from my baby shower. My sister-in-law is only 5 weeks ahead of me, but look at our bumps next to each other! Unfortunately, my boobs never kept pace with my belly...ha.

_________________"Noooo! Karyn, you have to stop posting old Jensen pics. He looks way too smooth in those pics, like if I touch his face it'll feel like silk or bosoms or something."-mixmaster_moIt's Raining Kale